Disseminated intravascular coagulation

Disseminated intravascular coagulation or describes the widespread clotting of blood throughout the body's blood vessels. The process disrupts normal clotting and ironically causes bleeding from small wounds in the skin (such as those from a blood sample), the digestive tract, the respiratory tract and surgical sites. The clotting can also cause damage to organs from lack of blood flow, particularly the kidneys . It is the most common cause of multiple organ failure in the elderly, and is common in critically ill patients of any age.